Rock A Bye
by Comix28
Summary: He can manipulate time, regress or advance anyone’s age. He is Dr. Tokei. When he bumps heads with the Strawhat crew, he leaves them with two major problems.1: He’s taken away their swordsman. 2:He has left them a toddler.
1. Flow of Time

_Disclaimer: No, I still do not own any of the One Piece characters. :( _

**Rock - A - Bye**

**Chapter One**

**Flow of Time**

For the past week, it had been the same thing. Every new morning seemed like the one before, as if they were stuck in some sick loop of déjà vu. Things had gotten so mundane that it was enough to drive anyone to the brink of insanity, and she was no exception.

_Agh! I wish something would happen already!_

Biting her lip in frustration as she nearly ripped the page in her newspaper while turning it, and the term 'cabin fever', stuck out clearly in her mind.

Life on the sea was a tedious one. One always had to be aware and on the look out, especially if you were on a pirate crew. There were always marines to look out for, storms, bounty hunters, rival pirates, sea monsters, and other dangers of the sea that one had to be prepared for.

But nothing, nothing could effectively describe the agony of spending days on end on the open sea with absolutely nothing to do.

Perhaps she was 'spoiled' in a sense. She was used to having all types of adventures with her nakama. Almost everyday they were faced with something memorable. It could have been the start of a new challenge, a new adventure, or something as simple as the antics of her nakama making the day seem special.

Wasn't it just a week ago that they had to save Chopper from drowning when Luffy had accidentally knocked him overboard while fishing?

Of course that hadn't been a good thing, but that small burst of excitement had made the day memorable and had kept them all on their toes.

"Ah, basking in the sun only serves to give you the ethereal glow of a goddess, Nami-san!"

She found that she couldn't help but smile as he concluded his statement with his usual gush and deep bow as he held out a platter towards her, containing a small delicious dessert that she didn't know the name of, but was sure tasted delicious.

_If I keep eating all of this I'm going to start getting fat…_

It was true. She was sure that the tall lean cook was starting to feel the boredom seep under his skin as well. He was in the kitchen even more than usual. Constantly making little snacks and such for both Robin and herself.

A lot of snacks.

So many that she really was surprised she hadn't gained another 30 pounds in the last week.

But she didn't have the heart to refuse them, especially when she knew he had made them with care and had made such an effort to give it to her.

"Thanks Sanji-kun…."

"You're very welcome Nami-san!" He beamed at her as he made his way over to Robin to give her, her own portion.

Robin accepted his offer as graciously as she had herself, though she too seemed hesitant at first.

"Sanji! What is that? I want some too!" Their captain inquired, immediately at his side since spotting that he had food with him.

"Yeah, how come we don't get any of those special cakes?"

"Because you two idiots aren't female."

"That isn't fair!"

"Stop your whining Usopp, yours is in the galley."

"All right!" Luffy cheered racing off first.

"Luffy, you pig, save some for me!" Usopp protested taking off after him.

Nami continued to watch their antics for a few moments more, before sighing and leaning back in her chair. Licking her lips free of the sugary goodness, she swallowed the last bite of the delicious little pastry, and dusted her skirt off delicately.

Dull eyes turned to the ocean once more where the water was still calm. Gentle waves slapped against the hull weakly, another painful reminder that nothing exciting was happening. The water stretched as far as her eyes could see. Only water.

Not even a protruding rock caught her vision, meaning that there wasn't even anything for her to add to her maps.

Reading the newspaper was no longer satisfying, so she placed it on the floor by her chair and contemplated on what to do to keep herself occupied. But mother nature helped her decide. The sun was shining down on her in just the right angle that left her feeling warm, but not scorched.

It was soothing, comforting and slowly tantalizing her into taking a nap.

A nap.

She frowned at the thought of doing such a thing midday, preferring to be productive. But the sun was relentless, embracing her in a warm comforting blanket that she couldn't ignore any longer.

_Maybe this is why Zoro always likes to sleep on the deck…Mmm, feels nice…_

"Where did they come from?"

"Wow, cool that's a big ship!"

"Luffy, you idiot! This isn't a time to be impressed!"

" Get ready, it looks like the shit heads are gonna board…"

She didn't know when exactly she had fallen asleep, or how long she had been sleeping, but as she tried to gain full consciousness and the ability to think properly, she realized that her nakama were shouting like they usually did when something out of the ordinary was happening.

It was also around that time she realized that her soothing sun's rays were being blocked by the shadow of a very large ship.

"What?" She heard herself shout in surprise as she bolted upright from her chair.

How in the world had a ship so large appear out of seemingly nowhere?

It was at least twenty times the size of the Going Merry, dwarfing the caravel considerably. It was a pirate ship, that much they knew, the giant sails bearing the customary jolly roger, but the eyes of the skull resembled clocks. Their figurehead, oddly enough, seemed to be a giant alarm clock. Though large and intimidating, she mentally shrugged. They had seen weirder things before.

"Nami….Nami?"

Her head snapped from staring at the gigantic ship in awe, to the small reindeer looking up at her with fearful eyes.

She knew he was silently asking for reassurance that everything would be all right. "It's okay Chopper, whoever these weirdoes are, they well take care of them." She assured nodding in the direction of the guys who were waiting for the enemy to descend.

Luffy looked eager, readying his muscles excitedly. It was obvious he was itching for a good fight. She was surprised he was even waiting for them, and had not launched himself onto their ship. Zoro looked,… well he looked sleepy, and annoyed. His hair was even more unruly than usual and tears from yawning and his latest nap still clung to his eyes, but it would be dangerous to assume that he wasn't ready to fight. Sanji was cool and collected as always, the cigarette hanging from his mouth added to the effect. Usopp, though shaking in his boots, stood his ground.

"I, the great captain Usopp am not afraid of you guys! Hurry and come face me! My crew of 85,000 men are waiting for you!" He shouted to the opposing pirates who had already begun their descent.

"Wai, really? Where are they Usopp!" Luffy shouted excitedly.

"I've never noticed we had that many people on board…" Chopper commented offhandedly as well.

The redhead sighed and felt her mind throb at their lack of common sense.

With a soft 'whoosh', a pirate landed in front of her with a cackle, making her shriek in surprise. Quickly taking out her clima-tact, she knocked him out swiftly and efficiently leaving his arriving shipmates sweat -dropping in confusion.

It was the signal that the fight had started.

More and more began to drop onto the Going Merry and the Straw-hat pirates greeted them, taking them out as fast as they came down.

Too many of them were surrounding her to give her enough time to use the clever little tricks of the clima-tact, so she resorted to using it as a bo.

"Veinte fleur." Robin muttered as twenty hands sprouted out of the floorboards and tackled dozens of them at once.

Chopper easily swept through the masses while in his bigger form, his strength no match for their own.

Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro took out their own large share as usual, and Nami couldn't help but wonder why these idiots kept coming. Obviously they were no match for the Straw-hat pirates.

But they kept coming. Like a swarm of bees, the more you tried to shoo them away, the more they kept coming back. And with a ship that size, it was proving to be a very large hive indeed.

Finally, as if someone had struck a bell giving them a break in the fight, a tall thin man dropped down, making all the would-be attackers freeze and salute him, the others staring in confusion. Black greasy hair was slicked back from dark brown eyes, a navy blue cloak covering him to the ankles a design of clockwork covering it. He moved across the deck gracefully, stopping in the middle and surveying the scene.

"I see that the Straw-hat crew has lived up to its reputation." He commented smoothly.

"I see that a total dick has boarded our ship." Sanji replied just as smoothly.

"Who the hell are you." Their swords-man added eyeing him warily.

"Who am I? You dare ask who I am?"

"I just asked didn't I? Who the hell are you."

"You surprise me Roronoa Zoro, I was sure that a man of your caliber would know who I was."

"Nope."

The stranger's right eye twitched, but he cleared his throat elegantly and continued. "I am the great Dr. Tokei."

"You are a doctor?" Chopper commented, obviously interested.

"No, I just like the sound of it."

Nami felt herself sigh. Great, more stupidity.

"And I would know you, why?" Zoro pressed, obviously not understanding this man's logic.

"I don't know really. Those who are famous should know about each other."

Who had said that this man was famous? They certainly had never heard of him.

Nami watched the swords-man's eye twitch as his hand lingered over the hilt of one of his katana. It was obvious even to her, that he was itching to just run this man through if only to get rid of his annoying stupidity and get back to his nap.

"And may we know why you have decided to board our ship, Dr. Tokei?" Robin interrupted elegantly making the odd 'doctor' look at her with a warm smile.

"Ah, yes! I've come to collect the bounty and take your treasure. I hope you will comply and come along quietly." He replied calmly while still smiling.

Her own blood was boiling with anger, she was sure she could feel it and was sure her eyes were probably reflecting it. "No way are you getting anywhere near _my_ treasure!" She bellowed taking a defensive stance immediately.

"Really?"

"Really!" She roared raising her clima-tact menacingly.

He shrugged and sighed. "Aww, you're gonna make me do this the hard way?"

"Any way I have to, to keep you away from my treasure!"

Dr. Tokei sighed once more dejectedly and turned to the other crew members. "And none of you are going to come along quietly so I can get the bounty on your heads right?"

"Right." They chorused nonchalantly.

"Not even Luffy?"

"Nope." The rubber-man answered grinning happily.

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"Hm. I guess there's no other way. Boys, stop messing around and kill them." He stated, his voice doing a complete 360 and instead of sounding warm and pleading, he now sounded cold and heartless.

His followers also seemed to take a turn and were no longer fighting as weakly as they had been in the beginning. Their strength doubled and it took her more than a little effort to fight off more than one of them off at once.

Suddenly, more than half of her attackers went flying overboard, leaving her blinking in surprise. Turning to look at who their attacker was, she was less surprised to see a tall blond standing in front of her protectively.

"Don't any of you shit-heads know how to treat a lady?" He asked coolly before breaking out into a series of attacks that probably made them wish they had stayed aboard their own ship.

"Thanks Sanji-kun!" She called out gratefully taking the time to break away and go protect her precious treasure.

"Hai, anything for you my beautiful Nami-swan!" He cheered taking a moment to gush over her before turning to the enemy. "Let's get this over with." He spat taking another moment to light a cigarette before continuing to kick the crap out of all of them.

She quickly ran to their treasure room, wanting to be there to protect it in case any of these idiots were smart enough to be sneaky and take it while they were distracted. And she stayed there, confident in her nakama's ability to get rid of the enemy soon.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Up on deck, Zoro had gotten tired of fighting these hoards of weaklings. And he wasn't the only one. Sanji fought them off swiftly and easily, but it was obvious by the bored look on his face, that he wouldn't mind if the fight ended soon.

Usopp was busy running and fighting and he was quite sure that , that was taking up quite a bit of energy. Even Chopper seemed to be growing tired as he hardly swung his arms anymore and seemed to just be relying on his strength rather than any actual effort, while Robin looked unfazed as always.

He for one, wanted the fight to be over and realized that the only way to stop it was to get to the heart of the problem.

Dr. Tokei was standing coolly off to the side surveying everything quietly. It was odd, he was sure that Luffy would have taken him out by now. The Straw-hat captain often had the logic that the best way to stop these kinds of situations was to take out the leader.

But Luffy was busy having 'fun'. Laughing happily, he bulldozed most of the attackers by launching himself in different directions. He probably was happy to get some exercise in.

Sighing and slightly annoyed that he had to take matters into his own hands, Zoro made his way over to the 'Doctor', and calmly placed the tip of the Wadou Ichmonji at his throat.

"This isn't a spectator's sport. You started this, are you man enough to finish it?" He challenged.

Dr. Tokei visibally gulped at the sword pressing against his jugular, but managed to keep up a act of cold indifference. " Don't underestimate me, Roronoa Zoro, theres more to me than you know."

"And I could care less. Either fight, or get off our ship and leave us alone."

"I can't do that. Not until I leave with what I've come for."

"You're not going to get the treasure, or us."

"Ha! I don't need either. Look at the size of my ship, I'm wealthy enough and strong enough. I just like to get rid of all threats."

He could feel the slow sardonic smile that begin to spread across his lips. "So you're afraid of us, eh?"

"Well, now that I have found you before any of you could get any stronger, no. Now I can stop you all here, and become the Pirate King myself."

"You're already too late. We are already too strong for you." He replied calmly pressing the tip of the sword even deeper into the skin, threatening to cut. "Now are you going to leave, or is this going to have to get messy?"

"It doesn't have to get messy, I have my…ways."

"Enough talk!" Zoro finally growled irritated with the other man's words and odd logic.

"Fine then!" Dr. Tokei replied taking out a small dagger and making a messy swipe for the swords-man's chest.

Zoro easily dodged and lunged forward, missing the other man barely as he made a mad dash for the stern.

"Get back here you coward!"

The strange man didn't reply, but only laughed, making his blood boil and even more eager for running him through. He reached the stern within seconds and found the man there. At least….he thought it was the same man…

This man was so much younger looking. The man who had boarded their ship seemed to have been in his mid thirties, this one before him looked to be no more than a year older than himself.

"What. The. Hell…" He muttered as the younger version of the man he had been threatening only moments ago continued to laugh.

"Surprised? I don't blame you. I told you I had my ways to get rid of threats."

"What the hell are you talking about? And who are you?"

"Idiot! I am the great Dr. Tokei! Only 10 years younger!"

"What!"

"Yes! I ate the Toki Toki devil fruit! It has given me the wonderful ability to control the passing of time on any body. I can make myself younger or older at my will."

To demonstrate, he passed his right hand over his face and his appearance changed to the one Zoro had gotten used to seeing, the older version. But the man passed his right hand over his face once more, and he appeared to be even older. Then, to prove his point even further, the man then passed his left hand over his face, twice, and returned to the younger looking version of himself.

Seeing that Zoro was watching him intently, seemingly trying to absorb what he had just seen, Dr. Tokei laughed happily. "I see that you are amazed at my greatness. Yes, this is quite an ability. And you haven't even heard the best part!"

"Nor do I care about the best part."

"Oh, but I think you do. You see, if I were to, oh I don't know, touch someone else with either hand, I could control the flow of time in their body as well. I could make anyone younger or older, physically and mentally.. And….(this is the juicy part,) if I do not return that person to their proper age within the maximum time period of one week, they will remain stuck at whatever age I turned them into! Isn't that great? That way I get rid of them efficiently by either making them too old or too young to fight against me!"

"You're sick."

"Hm? No I am not. I'm perfectly healthy."

"That's not what I meant…"

"Whatever, let the games begin shall we? If you still feel up to the task of fighting me, then go ahead, but I feel better now that I have warned you of the circumstances."

"Whatever."

With that simple statement, the two men charged at each other. Dr. Tokei proved to be at the least, a decent opponent, managing to dodge most of Zoro's attacks. But it was odd, he seemed to be more on the defensive than the offensive. He waited for Zoro to charge at him, allowed him to get as close to him as possible without risking a limb, before dodging.

Zoro was too irritated to realize it, too focused on finishing the fight quickly to realize that he was falling into the other man's trap. The more the other man danced away from his blades, the more he pressed forward, almost relentless in his attacks.

Dr. Tokei took many hits, but he always twisted his body at the last moment, letting the blows hit where he wanted. At times he would weakly counter with his little dagger, managing to get in a few, shallow, cuts.

Their little duel lasted for what seemed an eternity, before it happened.

In that one short instance when Zoro prepared himself to lunge forward once again, Dr. Tokei dropped to the floor, surprising the swords-man, ruining his momentum. The strange man managed to slip between the other's arms, as he struggled to regain his balance and slapped him soundly on the cheek, with his left hand.

Zoro growled in anger and raised his sword, ready to slice the other's head clean of his shoulders, but found that he could no longer move.

Blinking in surprise, he opened his mouth to demand to know what the other had done to him, but found that he couldn't speak either. He could only stand there and stare as the strange man kept his left hand on his cheek.

He felt odd, weak, drained, and slightly sick. And the worst thing about it all was that he couldn't wipe off the arrogant smirk off of the bastard's face.

And was it him, or did the other man seem to be growing taller?

"Sorry Zoro, but I rather not have you around as a threat." Dr. Tokei cackled.

And that was all he remembered before everything went black.

**O0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"Come on boys, its time to go. We didn't get everything done today, but it was a start. And we will be back to finish it." Dr. Tokei called out to his few remaining followers.

"Boss, where are we going?" One of the followers called out idiotically.

"The next island of course! We need to restock!"

"Oh, right!" The crew agreed as they all disembarked, with Dr. Tokei laughing gleefully the entire time.

Nami felt her forehead crease in confusion. Why had that idiot left, laughing? That wasn't a good thing. He shouldn't have left victorious. The fact that he left, sounding happy, unsettled her greatly.

A worried feeling settling into the pit of her stomach, she rushed up the stairs to the main deck once more, eager to know that her nakama were all fine.

Everyone was calming themselves after the long tedious fight. Sanji and leaned against the railing smoking yet another cigarette, but this time he truly did look relaxed. Usopp leaned against the mast exhaustedly, breathing heavily, but with a smile on his face.

"Ha! That'll teach you! No one messes with the great captain Usopp!" He shouted, pumping his prominent nose and fist into the air.

Robin was already making her way to her favorite spot, looking eager to sit down and read after that bout of excitement. Chopper shrunk down to his normal size and flopped onto the floor exhaustedly as well, glad that he had held his own for so long.

Luffy, grinned at them all and went to sit atop of their figurehead in the shape of a ram.

Everything was settling back into a normal atmosphere and all of them were accounted for, so why?

Why hadn't that odd feeling in her stomach gone away, and why was it still telling her that something wasn't quite right?"

And then she realized it. One was missing.

"Oi, you guys seen Zoro?" She called out to them trying to not let the worry seep into her voice.

"What are you talking about Nami? We see Zoro everyday!" Luffy called back good naturedly, an innocent expression of confusion crossing his features.

Sighing, she placed a hand to her forehead, remembering to keep her patience with their captain.

"No Luffy, I meant have you seen him since the fight?"

"Oh. Nope."

The others nodded their heads in agreement. No one had seen the green-haired swords-man since the battle.

"The idiot is probably sleeping without bothering to check on everyone else. I last saw him fighting by the stern if that's any help."

_But that doesn't sound right…_

Zoro would always be sure to meet up with everyone after a fight, and then go to sleep and rest. She knew this from experience. It just wasn't like him to keep away from everyone without seeing that they were all okay.

But even though she felt that way, she felt herself nod and smile in agreement, tossing the blond a quick 'thanks' for the tidbit before moving towards the stern.

_Zoro you idiot, you better be sleeping…_

"Zoro?"

No response.

"Zoro, you could at least make an appearance before going to sleep you jerk."

No response. Not even a command to shut up and let him continue to sleep.

The unsettled feeling in her stomach intensified, and Dr. Tokei's laughter continued to ring in her mind.

Making her way to the furthest end of the stern, she continued forward, and suddenly stopped, feeling herself go cold.

Zoro's clothes laid on the deck at the very end, the wind blowing at it dangerously, threatening to blow them overboard. His three precious swords laid alongside them, but there was no trace of the swords-man.

Zoro, wherever he was, was very naked.

_What in the world…_

Her heart was pounding as if she had been running for miles, her chest constricting, making it hard to breathe. Her mind reeling with questions.

What had happened? Where was their blockhead of a swords-man? And if he had fallen to Tokei's strength, which was highly unlikely, what sick thing was the other planning to do, to have taken Zoro away naked?

Still in slight shock, she decided to inspect the swords-man's clothes for blood. But as she bent down to touch them, they moved and there was no wind blowing at the moment.

They moved.

She shrieked in surprise and watched the pile of clothes warily.

They moved once more and something, moving beneath them, whined.

Steeling her courage, she lifted the shirt and what she found underneath only made her eyes widen even more.

A baby.

There was a baby entangled in Zoro's clothes.

Large dark eyes stared up at her with as much confusion as she was sure her own eyes reflected. Short feathery soft mossy green hair covered his small head and judging by his size and appearance, she guessed that the child wasn't any older than a year.

All in all the small child in front of her looked awfully familiar…

_It can't be…_

"Zoro?…" She cooed softly.

The baby, who had grown tired of their little staring contest, had starting sucking his thumb in all his naked glory, but upon hearing her call, he immediately looked up at her.

_Oh no, this isn't happening…_

"Aw, come here..er…Zoro?"

Again the baby responded, smiling at her and reaching his arms out to her, silently asking to be carried.

Covering the small child with his own shirt that was now way too big for him, she picked him up gently and slowly began to walk back to the others.

Geez, she had been complaining about being bored, but she had not been wishing for this kind of 'excitement'. This was going to turn out to be a big headache, she was sure.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Author'sNotes: Btw, I really hate this quickedit thing, I mean it would be nice if it didn't totally mess up your lay out or made all the periods hang in the air. Lol. 

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed reading this, I have a lot of ideas for it , but of course like always reviews are very encouraging and would let me know if its even worth the time and effort to post the chapters. :O)

I apologize if anyone is out of character, and if there are pesky grammar mistakes. I tried to post this quickly because I wanted to get this idea posted and out there before someone else thought of it and then I felt like I was copying. :O(

Okay, I'm gonna shut up now, I'm really nervous bout this fic for some reason, but oh well! Once again, hope you guys enjoyed!

(P.S. I did look up the words and Tokei clock. Toki Time. :0) Also I know That Dr. Tokei is an oddball and his ship is exaggerated, but I like it that way. Lol.


	2. Chibi Marimo

_Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own them... I'm w__orking on it though! Hahaha _

**Rock - A - Bye**

**Chapter Two **

**Chibi Marimo**

Shock left her movements slow and unsteady. Maybe if she hadn't just been through one of the biggest shocks in her life, she would be able to walk without looking like a drunken fool. The fact that she was carrying the small child, confirmed that she had not lost her mind, but at the same time did not make her feel any better.

Nami took a deep breath before making it to the center of the main deck, and saw that everyone minus Sanji, were still lounging around, seemingly without a care in the world.

Usopp was the first to notice her. Looking up from mixing some suspicious looking ingredients, he shouted, "Nami! When did you have a baby?"

"What?" Sanji shouted bursting out of the galley like a bat out of hell.

Ignoring his antics, and wanting to get to the matter at hand quickly, she simply responded. "I found Zoro."

"Who cares about that shitty swords-man? Whose baby is that!"

Nami took a moment to blink and inwardly smile at his reactions. His face was taking an interesting shade of purple while he fought to keep his façade of cool indifference. Most likely, he was unnerved because she supposedly had just mothered a child, and because he obviously wasn't the father.

"Eh? There is a baby onboard?" Luffy asked finally coming over to see what all the commotion was about.

"It's Nami's."

"Usopp! This baby isn't mine...Zoro..."

"That's Zoro's baby? Nami-san...you and. Him?" Sanji interjected no longer attempting to keep the look of betrayal and hurt off his face. Taking a good look at the child, he scoffed, "Well...he does look like the bastard..."

"Nami and Zoro? You guys said that this is their baby?"

"Chopper... this isn't my baby..." Nami attempted once more, feeling her blood begin to boil to a dangerously high level. If only these idiots would shut up and let her explain…

"Well, I don't remember seeing you pregnant..." The small reindeer quickly added, his brow wrinkling in confusion and curiosity.

"Augh! I was never pregnant! I'm telling you this baby isn't mine! This baby _is_ Zoro!" Nami finally shouted before the conversation would get further off topic.

"What!" They all shouted, jaws hanging in shock.

"Wow! How did you turn yourself into a baby, Zoro? That's so cool!" Luffy shouted at once, making his way over and poking at the child, tickling him in the process. "And when are you going to change back?"

Zoro, for his part, acted like any other child his age, and giggled and laughed at the tickling sensation, making everyone stare at him even more. It was just so odd to think that the innocent baby in Nami's arms was their swords-man.

Which led to laughter. Uncontrollable laughter.

"Sanji-kun...enough already..." Nami sighed. But she knew he wouldn't stop, not until he got it out of his system.

"I'm s-sorry N-Nami-sa-hahaha! I-I can't h-help it...Mr. Santoryuu reduced to a baby..."

Zoro stared at the happy laughing man and laughed along with him, stretching his arms out towards him. This immediately calmed Sanji's hysterical laughter as he stopped to stare at him. "What?"

It was Nami's turn to laugh. " He wants you to pick him up."

"Er...okay. Come here you chibi marimo..."

She felt the small child reach out to him once more before his small weight lifted from her.

Zoro laughed happily and cuddled into Sanji's shoulder while sucking his thumb. Nami eyed Sanji discreetly, and the way that he had stiffened at Zoro's actions, it was clear that he had never dealt with such a young child before. And the fact that the child used to be his biggest rival, just had to be even weirder.

Well, then again she knew that she had never dealt with a child that young before either, and she highly doubted that any of the others had.

"So how in the world did you get yourself into this one?" Sanji finally muttered staring at Zoro directly in the face.

"Yeah, and when are you going to change back, eh Zoro?" Luffy insisted looking for all the world as if he honestly expected the child to respond.

"We don't eve know how this happened Luffy." Usopp answered, taking a closer look at Zoro.

Well, at least she had a theory. " It was Dr.Tokei." She interrupted with conviction. No way was she going to let them get off topic again. "He left the ship, way too satisfied with himself." The way that jerk was laughing there was no doubt in her mind. But he had run off and that meant..."So now the problem is finding Dr. Tokei again."

"Not really, Navigator-san." Robin interrupted, smiling like she always did when she knew something that they didn't. "Right now, we are at a crossroad. The log pose could pull us to either one of the Twin Islands."

"Twin Islands?"

"Yes, there are two islands on the Grand Line who are so close to each other, that it is believed that they were actually once one island that got split into two. To get from one island to the other only takes a maximum time period of two days. And the log pose only takes a few hours to set, since the magnetic fields are very similar. "

"Ah, I see! So that means that whichever island Dr. Tokei has gone to, even if its not the one we land on, when his log pose sets it will pull him towards our island, and ours will point towards the opposite, meaning we'll have to meet in the middle!"

"Exactly." Robin replied with a warm smile, glad that she had caught on so quickly. "However we must be careful with our timing. If we don't find Dr. Tokei at the island, we have to be careful not to pass him when going to the twin island. If we do, we cannot turn around, once the log pose has registered both of the twin island's magnetic fields, it will instantly pull you to the next island. So it would probably be a good idea to try to get an eternal pose."

"But Robin, if the islands are so close to each other, is the log pose really necessary? Can't Nami just navigate normally?"

"We're still on the Grand line, Long nose-san. Ships can still be turned around on a two day trip."

"Ah, right..."

"Ah, Nami-san and Robin-chan are so brilliant." Sanji gushed but as he moved, he realized that he still had a certain bundle in his arms. Zoro had stayed nice and calm in his arms, just sucking his thumb and staring at the sea. But he was still uncomfortable with the thought that he was carrying that shitty swords-man and he had to do something to get his small weight out of his hands..."Oi, Luffy, want to play with him?"

"Waii! Cool! I do want to play with him!" Luffy shouted enthusiastically already snatching Zoro out of Sanji's arms, although it appeared that he had been rough, he had been very gentle when lifting the child.

Zoro blinked at the sudden exchange and stared at Luffy. Luffy stared at him and then grinned excitedly, but then his face drooped, realizing that he had no idea what to do with the child.

"Um, Sanji? How ...do I play with him?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, I'm sure you'll think of something." And then as an afterthought, knowing how their captain could be, he added..."Just be careful, the idiot is just a little baby now."

"Ah, I'll be careful." Luffy nodded and continued to stare at Zoro trying to remember how he had seen others interacting with such small children.

Sanji nodded, and reached into his breast pocket, reaching for a much-needed cigarette. It wasn't even noon and he was already stressed out, damn it. Why did all the freaking weird stuff have to happen to them?

"Sanji-kun! You're not planning on smoking that near the baby, are you?" Nami shouted, having caught his motions from the corner of her eye from where she had been making sure that they were still on course.

Well, of course, he was planning to smoke it; he had it in his mouth already didn't he? But of course, there was no way he could reply in such a rude manner to his sweet Nami-swan. "Ah...no? Nami-san..." He replied with a nervous grin.

Yeah right. Sighing, Nami pointed to the bow of the ship. "If you really need to smoke that badly, at least do it as far from Zoro as possible." No need in polluting his small lungs after all.

"Hai, Nami-san..." He answered making his way to the bow, leaning against the railing to the right of the Ram head.

Well at least he listened. She smiled happily and then turned to Luffy, a bit nervous that Sanji-kun had given him the child. She trusted him, she really did. She trusted him with her life just like they all did, but she wasn't so sure he knew how to handle a baby.

Usopp, having seen that Luffy was quite confused, walked over to his aid and took Zoro out of his arms. "Luffy! Don't you know how to play with a baby?"

"Um..No.."

"Just leave it to me! The great Usopp-sama! I used to care for all twenty of my brothers and sisters!"

"Wow, really!" Luffy grinned immediately brightening at the outrageous comment.

"You must be really good with babies then!" Chopper praised as well.

"Of course!"

"Usopp...I thought you were an only child..." Nami interrupted with a raised eyebrow.

Blushing and stuttering slightly, under the expecting stares of both his captain and doctor, Usopp did the only thing he could do...fix his lie with another lie.

"Well, they weren't my mother's children! They were the children from the village and I used to help take care of them all!"

"Oh wow, you must have been really busy then!" Choppergushed once more.

Glad to have his audience back, he nodded sticking his prominent nose in the air with authority. "Now watch, as the great Usopp-sama shows you the proper way to play with a baby."

Luffy and Chopper obliged, standing back to watch Usopp as he held Zoro out at arms length in front of him, staring at him seriously.

Zoro frowned slightly, but stared at the man with something really long coming out of his face, oddly.

Usopp took no notice, of course and proceeded to make odd babbling noises at him and trying to make him smile by making faces. The faces and noise had both Luffy and Chopper rolling on the ground in laughter, but Zoro just focused on the one thing he found interesting.

Usopp was getting a bit unnerved. No laugh, no smile. Only intense staring was coming from the child. This was definitely Zoro.

"Aw, c'mon Zoro, not even a smile?" He prompted bringing his face closer, which was a big mistake.

Zoro, finally within range of that odd thing, latched on immediately, and squeezed and pulled. And for a small child, he had a really good grip.

"O-owww! Let go of my nose you little monster, let go!" Usopp suddenly shouted while Zoro held on with a death grip, but at least now he was laughing.

Luffy and Chopper, who had just recovered from watching his antics, fell backwards once more in laughter, gripping their sides in agony from laughing too much.

By now the rest of the crew noticed what had happened which led to more laughter. No matter how hard Usopp tried to get the tot to let go, the harder Zoro would fight to hold on. Laughing the entire time.

Feeling merciful, Nami continued to laugh, but picked up Zoro from behind and attempted to yank him off poor Usopp's abused nose. But as she yanked backwards, Usopp was pulled with her since Zoro still refused to let go; now holding on with both hands.

"Oww...get him off, get him off!" Usopp whined now dancing in place.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" She shouted in response.

Laughing softly in response to the whole situation, Robin concentrated and two arms came out of Usopp's arms, to tickle Zoro's small tummy.

Zoro squealed in surprise, and leaned back into Nami's arms, laughing the entire time and finally letting go of Usopp's nose.

"Thank you Robin! The little jerk wanted to yank my nose off!" He whined rubbing it constantly and tried to get Chopper to prescribe him something for it.

"It's just sore, Usopp." He answered sweat-dropping slightly but still got an ice pack to place on it.

"Even as a baby hes still a pain in the ass, huh?" Sanji commented having finished his cigarette and joining them once more.

Zoro, whether it was by coincidence or on purpose, chose that moment to blow a raspberry at him, and then laughed happily.

Nami snickered slightly and then shifted his weight in her arms. He was small, but hold any amount of weight for a while and it does begin to feel heavier and heavier. "Can you walk?" She questioned out loud, and watched as he blinked up at her curiously. Putting him down on the deck, she waited until she felt him gain his balance and then let go.

Zoro wobbled for a second or two, but remained standing. Everyone hushed and watched waiting to see if he was going to walk or not.

One wobbly step, another wobbly step. One more wobbly step, and then he fell to his knees. But instead of crying, he just took off, seeming to prefer crawling anyway.

"Cool! He did it!" Luffy laughed happily before crawling after Zoro. "This is fun!"

Zoro laughed, happy to see that he had a crawling partner, and began to crawl faster. Luffy kept up with him, not even realizing that he was getting the handle on how to play with a baby.

"So, Nami-san...How long till we get to the Twin Islands?"

"It should be another four days, Sanji-kun. When we left the last island the bartender told me that we should get there in two weeks."

"Ah I see. So that means for another four days we're going to have to put up with a Chibi Marimo instead of the regular big annoying one."

"Guess so."

" Well at least he's more tolerable this way, maybe we should just leave things this way..."

"Sanji-kun!"

"Kidding, Nami-san. Just kidding."

"Uh-huh."

"Well with all this, we haven't gotten anything to eat, so I'll go make lunch, and of course, something especially delicious for you Nami-san."

"Thanks, Sanji-kun."

He nodded and she sighed, watching Luffy playing with Zoro. Even Chopper had joined in, and they were all crawling around the deck, with Chopper stopping Zoro every time he got too close to the railing. "They do look really cute..." She muttered as she watched them.

"I agree Navigator-san." Robin agreed from her favorite spot.

Just as she was going to suggest to Luffy that they bring Zoro inside the cabin, since it was starting to get a bit nippy, she felt a big fat raindrop slapt against her arm.

_Oh no..._

Looking up, she saw dark angry clouds starting to accumulate. The nippy wind started to turn more vicious and began to blow her hair back violently. This was the one thing about the Grand Line she hated the most. The way that the weather changed so rapidly from one second to the other. "Luffy, Chopper, take Zoro and bring him inside the cabin! Theres a large storm coming!"

"Ok Nami!" Chopper shouted back, attempting to carry Zoro, but he wasn't able to without tripping over his own feet, since he was not much bigger than the baby.

Luffy took the task and both rushed into the cabin. Nami sighed once more. They already had a lot to deal with and she wasn't in the mood to have to deal with a storm as well.

* * *

TBC>>

* * *

**Author's ****Notes:** Wow!Thanks so much you guys! Thanks so much for your great reviews, I can't believe I got so many for the first chapter. I've noticed how hard that is to accomplish. You guys made me feel so special!

For some reason this chapter took me forever to get out, and I'm not happy with it. I got the biggest writer's block with it and I apologize if its slow, but my creative juices are flowing again and I'm hoping the next chapter will be better, I promise I will try my hardest! Please review, I would love to hear your comments!

**Special Shout Outs: **

_**Shadw: **Thankies! What a great thing to say! And yes this is mostly a fluff piece, no pairings._

_**Nikuwadoko: **Haha, that was funny. Thanks so much for your comment, and I'm trusting you on being my faithful reviewer! Lol_

_**KuroKame: **I totally agree! And thanks so much for reviewing, I love your stories and it made me feel so good that you had reviewed. _

_**NamiBean: **You're another one! I love your stories as well, and your reaction and review made me feel very special, arigatou! _

_**Moi: **Nope, no pairings just fluff. Lol. And I will try my best to not leave it hanging. And yes I focuse on Nami a lot, I feel comfortable writing through her point of view for some reason. _

_**Amy: **Aww I'm glad! (That's my sister's name so when I saw it, I was like aww lol) _

_**Raynne: **I'm trying to hurry, honest! _

_Griever5: Nope not just Nami, the crew. And nope no pairings. _

_**TreeStar: **Wai, thankies! _

_**Darkday Chaos: **Wow, thanks for being such a supportive reviewer, with your encouragement you really pushed me to get this chapter done. _

_**Erithil: **Haha, that would have been cute, but I've decided to keep him as a true baby, I've written other chibi fics where the characters keep their essence and would do stuff like that, but for some reason I didn't want to do that for this fic. _

_**Anon: **Er, yeah, I agree with you I guess his reasoning wasn't airtight. Sorry. My fault, but I didn't want to make the fic that complicated because it really is just a fluff piece. So even though your idea is great, I wasn't really aiming into making this fic a big action fic like that. Lol I know its no excuse, but that's the way it is. Maybe I'll go back and revise the first chapter, so sorry again for disappointing you. Thanks for the support anyway!_

_**Anny: **Thankies! And yes I will try to get the chapters out faster. _

_**Heron:** Thankies! _

_**RedNeckBigDog: **Aye aye! _

_**Shino: **Aw, thanks! _

_**Suzaku no miko: **I'm always nervous about people liking my stories! Anyway thankies, and yes I wish I could take care of a baby Zoro too! _

Thanks everyone! >>Big hug to all reviewers>>


	3. Rough Day

_**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own them…..I'm working on it though! Hahaha**_

**Rock - A - Bye**

**Chapter Three **

**Rough Day**

Fierce wind led to angry waves, as the dark clouds continued to empty themselves over the Going Merry. Water was irritatingly everywhere. Tall vicious waves slapped against the hull mercilessly. Some swiped at the deck like a giant watery hand, ready and willing to sweep any unsuspecting soul into a watery grave.

And she was supposed to get them through all of this.

With a heavy sigh, she turned to help Robin secure their possessions before they went rolling off into the watery abyss. Sanji and Luffy battled with the sails, while Usopp rushed to patch up cracks and keep water from seeping through the hull.

Now was the time that they were definitely feeling Zoro's absence. His monstrous strength was something that came in handy at times like these.

Nami found herself struggling to tie down the tarp around her mandarins. Cursing colorfully to herself, she wiped her soaked bangs out of her face and stubbornly tried harder. Sanji came to her aid, having managed to tie down the sails with Luffy's help.

In the cabin, Chopper, in his more humanoid form, was having a difficult time of keeping an eye on Zoro and controlling the helm.

The child was wailing. He was being tossed violently around, no matter how hard he tried to stay in one spot, he would still somehow find himself on the floor, knocked down by the relentless, violent rocking of the ship.

Chopper tried to reach out for the child, but he was afraid to let go of the helm. Afraid of what would happen if the ship got anymore out of control. But Zoro's frantic crying was piercing his heart. The ship lurched violently the moment he let go of the helm and rushed to where Zoro was struggling to sit up. Picking him up with one arm, he hurried back to the helm and tried to regain control with only one free hand.

Thankfully Nami chose that moment to duck her head in. "Chopper! Are you okay? What was that?"

Lifting Zoro up, he sighed as he continued to struggle with only one hand gripping the helm. "I had to pick him up. He was being tossed around."

Damn it. She had forgotten that with the storm going on, there was really no one to watch over him.

"Anou…Nami? Could you take him? Its kind of hard to control the ship with him in my arms…"

"Oh…yeah! Of course!" Taking him out of Chopper's hands. She headed back out of the cabin and into the raging storm that continued to pound on their small ship. Zoro squirmed in Nami's arms, sniffling miserably and whining.

"Shh. It's okay." She offered awkwardly while rubbing his back. He calmed somewhat. At least enough for her to concentrate on keeping them on course.

But that would be hard.

The howling wind blew both their hair every which way. Water splashed and hit her face so hard that she gasped for air and felt Zoro dig his face into her shirt. Clutching him tighter and attempting to cover him from the harsh weather, she continued to do her job.

After what seemed like an eternity of spluttering, coughing, straining to see, and shouting out orders, the storm finally ended and they survived with few damages to the ship.

"Whew. I thought that storm would never end!" Usopp grunted as he continued to do his patch work.

"It was a pretty fierce storm." Robin agreed with a warm smile.

"But our wonderful Nami-san pulled us through it yet again!" Sanji gushed with his usual flair.

Nami smiled and then turned her attention to the bundle in her arms. Zoro had remained quiet when the storm had ended, sitting in her arms placidly, but now, when all had settled and she was drying him off, he was fussy once more.

He began crying again, moving agitatedly against her, altogether seeming very uncomfortable. "Gah. Whats wrong now, Zoro?" She asked while she tried rubbing his back once more to calm him.

His whining increased and she could feel him getting more uneasy.

"What's wrong with the chibi marimo?"

"I don't know Sanji-kun, he's just so restless…uncomfortable, I think."

"Maybe he's hungry?"

"I don't know. He could be…"

"Here, let me take him." He offered, stretching his arms out for the baby. She eagerly handed him over, a bit unnerved that she hadn't been able to calm him. He took Zoro gently, his eyes softening with a concern he would never admit to having. "Okay, so whats wrong with ya? Huh?"

Zoro watched him pitifully, nose crinkling as he sniffled and whined some more. Nami, fresh out of ideas, opened her mouth to suggest putting him down, when Zoro began to cough. She watched as Sanji lifted a hand to pat his back gently, when it happened.

With another cough, Zoro threw up…all over Sanji.

She didn't know with whom she sympathized more. Zoro for getting sick, or Sanji for….well, obvious reasons.

Sanji. Definitely Sanji.

"You just had to do that didn't you….." He spat vehemently at the child still in his arms. Zoro simply whined, actually daring to give him that pitiful look again. Stupid marimo, even in this form he was such a jerk. Sanji glared at him slightly, before ignoring him completely and looking down at his soiled suit. "Eww…."

Wincing in sympathy at Sanji's situation, Nami got back to the matter at hand. "Do you think he caught a cold or something?" She suggested, noting that after such a storm and the fact that his only clothes was a shirt that was a hundred times too big for him, it wasn't too far-fetched of an idea.

"He's probably just seasick, we did just have a pretty rough time just now for someone who hasn't gotten their sea legs yet." Robin spoke up taking Zoro out of Sanji's grateful hands. He then trudged off grudgingly to the cabin to change, colorful words streaming out of his mouth, directed towards a certain little swordsman.

Carrying Zoro over to her favorite spot, Robin sat in the chair and placed him on her lap, rubbing his tummy gently. He calmed considerably at her administrations, and leaned back into her touch, sticking his thumb into his mouth and looking up at her in what seemed to be a grateful way.

"Ah! I know of something that will help calm his stomach!" Chopper suddenly exclaimed, having seen what happened and already going to crush the necessary herbs. Mixing them with water, they were faced with the task of how they were going to get him to drink it.

Usopp quickly looked around and after spotting a small bottle, immediately got an idea. Taking a rubber stopper and placing it securely over the opening of the bottle, he had created a makeshift baby bottle.

"There." He stated proudly holding out his accomplishment.

"Eh. Usopp, you really do come in handy…sometimes…" Nami commented with a smile, glad that someone had done something about that predicament.

"Ah ha, well of course! I am the incredible Usopp-sama! Inventor and Creator of all things great and …. "

"Aw, he's cute." Chopper's voice suddenly cut off the marks-man's self appointed speech.

Usopp turned to look at Zoro and couldn't help but smile as he saw that Zoro was drinking the medicine obediently, and that the baby bottle really was working.

Robin continued to rub the tiny swords-man's stomach as he drank, and it wasn't long before he fell asleep.

"Is Zoro all better now?" Luffy piped up trying to get a better look at his miniature first mate.

"Yes, I think he is feeling better now Captain-san."

"That's great! Can I try playing with him again?"

"He's sleeping."

"Are you sure?" Luffy asked,_ innocently _tapping Zoro, and if that woke him up, that of course, was in no way his fault.

Keeping his arm at bay, and succeeding in stopping the poking, Robin smiled her ever patient smile. "Yes, I'm sure Captain-san, and I think it would be best to let him rest for now."

"But I want to play with him."

"You can play with him when he wakes up."

"But--"

"Agrh! Enough Luffy! Let him sleep!"

Nami blinked as the words escaped her mouth. She never thought that she would ever utter those words. Especially when she usually found herself arguing with the swords-man to stop being so lazy and sleeping all the time.

Their captain pouted in disappointment, and was about to ask what was the exact time Zoro would be up, when a really cool looking bird flew over head and he rushed to his favorite seat in excitement, baby Zoro forgotten. ……For now.

It was then that Sanji came out of the cabin, clad in a loose t-shirt, not willing to risk soiling another of his good shirts. As soon as Luffy saw their chef back on deck, he nearly launched himself at him. "Saaaaaanjiiiiiii, I'm hungry!"

Cringing at his cry, Sanji sighed, he forgot that with all the commotion of the storm, he had never gotten the chance to make lunch, it was actually amazing that Luffy had lasted so long. "Yeah, yeah. I'm going to go make lunch now."

"Yatta! Food! Be sure to make lots of meat, kay?"

"Hai, hai."

As things settled down, Robin left Zoro sleeping on her shoulder, and continued to read her book. Usopp busied himself with telling Chopper more outrageous tales, and the small reindeer eagerly listened. Amazed and believing every word.

Their captain laid rather depressed and out of energy on top of the figurehead, whining that he was very, very hungry. It was already getting to be dinner time, meaning that he had missed lunch. So he made it very clear that if he didn't have anything to eat soon, it was very likely that he would die.

Not even Nami's sandal traveling at 50 mph and making perfect contact with the back of his head managed to shut him up.

"Hungry……."

"Shut up!" Both Nami and Usopp roared, irritated at having to hear his non-stop whining every five seconds.

"But I'm so hun--"

"Dinner's ready!" Sanji finally called standing in the doorway to the galley.

"Food!" Luffy cheered charging at the chef like a one man stampede.

A stampede that was easily held back by a well placed kick to the face as Sanji easily swatted him away. "Ladies first dumbass!" He growled, before smiling at bowing deeply at the waist towards Nami and Robin and ushering them inside. "Nami-san, Robin-chan, I made your portions with extra love and tender care."

"Thank you Sanji-kun." Nami responded with a smile that made him literally melt.

Robin thanked him as well, and shifted the small bundle in her arms in attempt to wake him up. Zoro, stubborn as ever about his sleep, merely rubbed his head against her shoulder and continued to snooze. Laughing softly at this, she stood and rubbed his back in another attempt to wake him as she walked to the galley. He needed to wake up, he had too eat too after all.

She had just sat down and barely managed to avoid being bull dozed as Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp came bursting through the door. Luffy was in the lead of course, and threw himself on the table, already starting to scarf down anything he could get his hands on.

Everyone on the crew was used to this, and they knew that if they had any hope of eating, that they would have to be fast and guard their food with their lives. But there was one that wasn't used to this.

Zoro blinked drowsily from his spot in the chair that Robin had placed him in, watching the chaos that would otherwise be called dinnertime.

Food was flying in all directions as Luffy rushed to fling it into his waiting mouth and bottomless pit of a stomach. Scraps and pieces were grabbed by Usopp and Chopper as they hurried to get their fill as well. Nami was eating quickly too, but she kept her plate on her lap, and as she glanced up she noticed that Robin and Sanji had gotten used to doing that as well.

But as she was about to continue eating, she realized that Zoro was just sitting there, watching the wild scramble to get something to eat. He had a place set for him, but it was served in a portion assuming that Zoro was not currently a toddler. Sanji, in his haste to make dinner quickly for their annoyingly whining captain, must have forgotten to make the portion more kid friendly.

Amazingly enough, Zoro's plate remained untouched. Robin had statistically placed him out of range of the roaming hands that might have endangered his food, but the portion of rice and meat were too large, the fork too awkward for his small hands and the glass of water was too big to hold. Thus this made the meal seem unattractive to the child and when food doesn't seem edible, it becomes something else.

A toy.

Zoro had picked at his plate, leading Robin to believe that he would be fine. She watched him occasionally as he ate, making sure that he was all right. It was in the split second that she wasn't paying attention that he chose to strike.

He had been laughing at Luffy's antics finding it funny that he was eating so much. Perhaps wanting to please the captain, he held out a piece of his meat towards him and watched happily as it was snatched from his hand without a second thought.

"Luffy!" Sanji growled, angered that he had taken the child's food without so much of a glance.

"What?" Luffy innocently asked as he continued to stuff his face.

"You took away Zoro's food!"

"No I didn't!" He defended as his arm snapped out again, and as if by instinct, snatched out the meat from Zoro's hand, since the little swords-man was offering it to him again.

Everyone sweat-dropped at the fact that he hadn't even looked.

"Stop taking his food, you jerk!" The chef protested once again.

But Zoro was having fun, and didn't seem to mind at all. Because he started flinging his food in Luffy's direction, and laughed every time it was snatched up by the captain.

"Hey, you brat! What is your problem? Don't like the food?"

"Don't get so upset, Cook-san." Robin intervened. "I'm sure its not your food, I think it's the fact that he can't really eat it…"

Damn it. He had forgotten to make the food kid friendly for the little marimo. Feeling his cheeks burn slightly in embarrassment for making the mistake, Sanji snatched Zoro's plate away and began to chop the meat and vegetables thinly, and then began to mash it with the rice until all three foods were so mashed together that it was hard to tell that it had been three different types of food. And with the gravy from the meat mixed in it, it looked like actual store bought baby food.

And it did not look appetizing at all.

Heating the concoction till it was warm, Sanji then served it to the little pain in the ass again. By then, all the food was already gone and Luffy was already out of the galley and back on his perch on the figurehead, finally satisfied. At least for the next hour or so.

Robin had stayed behind and was cleaning up while Nami was finishing her plate. Unlike the stampede that had just invaded the galley, she ate her food at a normal pace.

"Ah, Robin-chan, you don't have to do that….." Sanji admonished as he turned from washing the dishes and saw what she was doing.

"But I want to help, Cook-san…"

"No, its okay…." He suddenly frowned as a certain long-nosed liar was trying to sneak out of the galley. "It's Usopp's turn to help me out anyway."

Usopp 'eeped' and looked at the chef guiltily. "Aw, Sanji….do I have to? I've been working all day and I had to get us through that storm and…."

"Shut up and get to work!"

Sighing, the marks-man grudgingly got to work and Chopper got up to help him. Robin, sat back down next to Zoro, noticing that he was still having trouble trying to eat.

He was lifting the spoon to his lips awkwardly and was succeeding in getting the mush all over his face and shirt, rather than in his small mouth.

Smiling, she pulled the spoon out of his hands gently, and scooped some of the food onto it, and hovered it near his lips. Zoro stared at her for a minute, and after getting the message, opened his mouth and took the spoonful.

"Good, isn't it?" She asked him as her smile deepened at his actions.

In response, he bounced in his seat and slapped his hands against the tabletop, opening his mouth eagerly.

Nami looked up from her plate at this, and smiled. "He really is cute. I wonder what happened."

"That made him such an annoying bastard?" Sanji asked off handedly as he continued washing the dishes.

"No, Sanji-kun, that made him such a blockhead."

"Maybe they dropped him on his head. …..repeatedly."

She couldn't help but snicker at the comment, and continued to watch as Robin fed him. When he was full, he turned his head away from Robin, and every time the spoon came near his mouth, he pushed her arm away.

Getting the message, Robin placed him down on the floor, and watched as he toddled out of the cabin and out onto the main deck. Chopper hurried out after him, and laughed when he saw that Luffy was all ready playing with him…..Or trying to anyway.

Usopp finished his duties, and marched out as well, where the others were playing a game where they were rolling a small ball type object they had found on deck back and forth to each other. It was a simple game, and the older boys were probably going to get tired of it quickly, but Zoro was laughing and clapping the entire time. Thoroughly enjoying himself.

They ended up playing that game and others until it got dark, and was time for bed. It was Usopp's turn to keep watch, so he bid the others goodnight, and took his blanket into the crow's nest.

In the cabin, it was decided that Zoro would sleep in the men's quarter's sofa, lest he roll off a hammock and hurt himself. Nami placed pillows on the border, forming a crib type setting and placed Zoro on the sofa with a pillow and blanket.

He sat up, and stared at her curiously, obviously not getting the fact that it was time to go to bed. "Um, …" She started as she noticed this. "Time for bed." She stated plainly.

He giggled at her weird tone and stretched his arms up at her, asking to be carried.

"No, …er…time for bed ." She replied, placing her hands together to the side and laying her head on them, while closing her eyes and making snoring sounds.

Zoro still watched her curiously and laughed once more.

"C'mon Zoro." She moaned impatiently. "All you ever want to do when you're older is sleep, and now you don't want to go to sleep? This is crazy!" And yet, it made sense. What if the older Zoro slept so much because his body wanted to make up for all the sleep it had missed when he was younger? She certainly hoped that this wasn't the case. Especially since she was so tired.

Picking him up, and laying him down on his back, she closed his eyes gently, hoping that he would get the message. He didn't, and simply sat back up. But his small body betrayed him, and he yawned. Obviously his body wanted to sleep, but he was being stubborn.

It was then that Sanji came into the men's quarters, with the makeshift bottle, full of warmed milk. "I figured the little brat wouldn't fall asleep so easily." He commented as he handed Zoro the bottle and laid him back down.

Zoro drank from the bottle eagerly, and as he drank, slowly but surely his eyes began to close.

Nami covered him with the blanket, and chuckled softly. "How did you know?"

"Its Zoro, of course he has to be a pain about everything."

She nodded and then yawned. "Well, I'm going to bed. I think its safe to say that we've had a rough day. Goodnight Sanji-kun."

"Goodnight Nami-san! I can't wait to be graced by your beauty once more in the morning!"

She smiled and thanked him once more, before heading out of the men's quarters and heading towards her room.

The night was calm and the ship was deathly silent when everyone had gone to bed. So, why? Why was he waking up? Sanji groaned and passed a hand tiredly over his eyes. Cursing himself for being a light sleeper, he tried to determine what had woken him up.

From what he could tell, there was nothing out of the ordinary going on to have woken him up. Shuffling and rustling of the sheets could be heard as Chopper shifted in his sleep, and Luffy's snoring was loud enough to wake anyone. Glaring at the Captain momentarily, thinking that his captain's louder than usual snoring had woken him up, Sanji lifted his head from his pillow and squinted through the darkness to look at the sofa.

Only to find that it was empty.

"Shit."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I'm so, so sorry you guys. I really wanted to have this up a lot sooner. I know I gave you an excuse last time, but I really mean this…. I thought that since it was Summer vacation I would have a lot more time to write. But boy was I wrong! I've been forced to run around so much that its crazy. Work pulling me one way, friends another, and then family yet another, I've been too stressed or tired or worn out to write.

And it doesn't help when your computer doesn't want to work at times either.

Anyway, I wanted to thank all those who reviewed again, and tell you how much I appreciate it! Your words make me smile, they really do. And they always make my day.

Oh and Btw, I know a lot of people are asking me if this is a ZoroXNami fic. Well the answer is NOPE. There is to be no romance in this fic. Its supposed to be just a fluff piece. (I try to give everyone their moment.) And for the record you guys, the only pairing I really do support is SanjiXNami.

Anyway shout outs:

**Namibean: **I always love reading your reviews, since I love your stories too. Thank you so much for reviewing yet again! and to answer your question, yes his mentality has been reduced to that of an infant as well.

**Shadw: **Thanks! I'm glad you like it, and I'll try!

**Lilosan: **Glad you like it too! Always great to see new reviewers! And I hope I don't get writer's block too often either. I hate it.

**Griever5: **Yes, I try to keep all my fluff pieces up to a certain degree of cute. Lol

**BlackFuzzDevil: **(Your penname is actually kind of cute. Lol I keep picturing a little black fuzz ball with horns….. Eh heh.) Thanks so much.

**nikuwadoko: **Yay! You reviewed again! Thank you for your encouragement, it means a lot. Really. And I'm sorry I've let you down this time, updating so late. I really promise this time that I will not allow myself to take too long posting the next chapter.

**Darkday Chaos: **Wow, the chapter made you feel better? That's such an honor to hear! I feel so special! And thank you, I took your advice and did listen to music while writing. It did help. And you know what music? One Piece music of course! Mwahaha. Thanks so much.

**gothywolfie: **Yes! How dare you take so long to review! Hmph! Lol, don't worry about it. What matters is that you did review! Thank you for doing that and I'm glad you liked it.

**sausuge: **Thankies!

**Angelfirey**: Hey, I made you type "Lol" cool! Lol. …don't mind me I'm such a retard. But glad you liked!

**Suzaku no miko: **When did you review this chapter? Lol. ….. And stop hitting me woman! But thanks for the review.

**Erithil: **Exactly. I could have given him traits of his older self, but I wanted to keep it a little more realistic and keeps his mind more infantile. I'm so happy you like it though because I love your stories too! Thanks for reviewing!

**NONE : **Um… I'm trying! ….Thank you!

**sakuhin: **Thankies!

**Fire Blazing Chan S.E.: **Yes, I think he would look adorable too! Whole reason for writing this. To satisfy my need to picture him as a baby. Lol

**MeraNova: **Wow, you like it that much huh? You made me feel very special too. Thanks so much, and I hope you liked this chapter too.

**Vespera: **You are very right, and I'm glad you like this! And yes, not really romance but I'm just having him bring out Nami's softer side. I'm one of the people like you, who think she does have one and is not always a complete bitch. Lol.

**Drgn048: **Glad you love it! And I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

**And to those who didn't review again, I'm sorry if I disappointed you and you didn't like the story anymore, and to those who haven't reviewed at all, (Yes, I do check my hit count. Lol) Please review, I would love to hear your opinions! Thanks so much everybody! **


	4. Night Time Frolics

_Disclaimer: ;:Fights back the lawyers:; They're mine! Mine I say! (I wish…);:Also cringes from readers who have been waiting forever for this chapter…;:  
_

**Rock - A - Bye**

**Chapter Four **

**Night Time Frolics**

In an attempt to make his eyes adjust to the darkness of the cabin more quickly, he sat and rubbed them for a few seconds and reopened them. It did nothing to change the fact that the sofa remained empty, but it did make his eyes itchy and somewhat swollen.

"Shit." He muttered once more as he slipped out of his hammock. Now, not only was he ticked off, he was uncomfortable too.

Thankfully, the couch revealed no signs of there having been any kind of trouble. Such as that idiotic Dr. Tokei having returned to finish whatever ridiculous mission it was he had. The sheet and border pillows were crumpled and pushed aside to make room, the makeshift bottle half empty and tossed aside carelessly. All signs that Zoro had gotten up on his own.

The little jerk.

"Zoro…" He called out in a sharp whisper, not wanting to alarm and wake the others unnecessarily.

Brushing his blond hair back and away from his face in frustration, he could feel his heart pounding against his chest and his fingers twitched with the need to pull out a cigarette and smoke, as a weird feeling overtook him.

As he searched through the cabin looking for Zoro, the feeling wouldn't leave him alone. Fear? Worry? Anger? Annoyance?

Annoyance. Definitely Annoyance.

He refused to believe that he would be feeling otherwise. After all, he could care less if the little idiot had wandered up deck and fallen to his watery grave. ..…. Well, that was a lie. As annoying as the bastard was, he was still nakama. So all right, maybe he was feeling all of those things mixed together he admitted to himself and it would take a pack of starving piranha gnawing on him to get him to admit it out loud. Maybe even that wouldn't stop him from taking that admittance to his grave.

Shaking his head roughly, he refocused on his task. Checking in every possible nook and cranny that a young child might find fun to hide in and he had not checked, his voice raised slightly. "Zoro…come out. Game time is over…"

But still nothing.

As much as he would hate to admit it, even to himself, he was starting to slowly panic.

_One more place, I'll check one more place before waking everyone else…_

Rushing up the stairs, and out on to the deck, his eyes quickly darted around, searching. It wasn't long before he heard a voice coming from above.

"Sanji! What is wrong?"

At least he now knew for certain that they could count on Usopp during his night watch. And tonight he was especially grateful for his alertness. "Oi, Usopp!" He started while looking up towards the crow's nest. "Has there been anyone else on deck tonight?"

Even though he so high up, he could still make out Usopp's features contorting to that of confusion and even if he couldn't see him clearly, his voice confirmed his reading of the other's expression. " What do you mean?" The marksman called back. " You're the first I've seen on deck all night. Is something wrong?"

He chose to ignore that particular question for now. "Have you heard the water splashing like someone fell into it?"

Now Usopp was torn between being curious and nervous. Sanji's voice carried an underlining worry to it, despite how much he tried to mask it, and that alone made him uneasy. "No, I'm telling you, you're the only one I've seen tonight and the water's been calm. Are you going to tell me what is wrong now?"

But Sanji still refused to answer him. With a quick, "Sorry! G'night Usopp!" He had practically ran back into the cabin, slamming the door shut behind him.

A wave of mixed relieve and further frustration overtook him as he slammed the door behind him. At least he now knew that Zoro had not fallen off deck to the dark depths below.

But now he had run out of places to look. It was time to let everyone in on the problem.

He'd start with the girls. He knew they'd be the most reasonable choices at the moment, seeing as how they often had the most common sense out of all them. Quietly, he slipped into the girl's shared room, knowing they'd be asleep and not bothering to knock. But as he allowed himself inside, he noted that the door had been slightly ajar.

Once in the room, his heart skipped a beat. At first it was because he thought his wonderful Nami- san's radiance was affecting him once more, even while she was asleep, but he was wrong.

By Nami's side as she slept, he spotted the one he had been searching for. Zoro.

The tiny swordsman was attempting to tug at her sleeves, trying to grab her attention. A sharp pang of anger rippled through his body and erased all other emotions he had felt now that he saw that the young one was safe. And anger shot through himself once more after he mentally slapped himself for not having checked this room earlier.

Nami continued to sleep, despite Zoro's attempts. She merely rolled over and shooed him away anytime his small hands pestered her. Robin had fallen asleep over at the desk, draped over a book. It wasn't clear if he had attempted the same with her or not.

No wonder neither of them had brought the child back. He didn't even know how long Zoro had been in the room, or why he was so insistent on waking up his Nami-san.

"Zoro." He said softly, hoping to take his attention away from the sleeping goddess.

The small child jumped at his voice, but turned to him with a large smile, seeming genuinely happy that he was there. He half wobbled half crawled over to him and at the speed it took him to get across the room, Sanji couldn't help but wonder why it had taken him so long to find him.

"Come on you pain in the ass, back to bed." He stated calmly as he bent to pick the child up. Although his words were harsh, his actions were gentle and after draping a blanket over Robin and making sure his wonderful Nami-san was comfortable, he slipped out of the room as easily as he had slipped in.

Now that he had found the shrimp, exhaustion overtook his body and he couldn't contain a yawn. More than half his sleeping time had been spent in searching for an annoying marimo and sleep for him was precious. Especially when a certain captain woke him at all hours of the morning to cook breakfast.

He was almost back to the men's quarters and he could practically hear his hammock calling out to him, when Zoro began to wiggle in his arms agitatedly. Remembering what had happened the last time the child had acted in such a way, he held him out at arm's length, facing away from his shirt. "Don't you dare…."

Zoro began to hiccup and whine, his crying increasing in pitch. Cursing colorfully under his breath, Sanji turned him back around and looked into his eyes. "What's wrong with ya now? Huh?"

And to his surprise, he actually got an answer.

"Potty."

He blinked. Certain his sleep deprived mind had made him hear things. "Huh?" He allowed himself to mutter as the child continued to stare at him expectantly, sniffling the entire time.

"Potty." Zoro repeated, moving agitatedly once more. Sanji was certain that if he had been able to, he would have been doing a wee wee dance.

Still stunned, all he could manage to do was respond. "You can talk?"

Zoro then began to cry once more, upset that this grown up was continuing the conversation instead of heeding to his needs.

"All right, all right." He muttered and carried the child to the bathroom, feeling slightly guilty that none of them had taken into consideration what to do about his bathroom needs. Needless to say, he was very relieved to find that he was already potty trained. He would have refused at all costs to have changed his diapers…

As it was, it was bad enough that he had to hold him over the toilet. He was too small, and would have otherwise fallen in. He still turned away while he did his business, wanting to be as unattached as possible. He wanted to forget this was happening at all. And he suddenly found himself wishing that Zoro had been successful in waking Nami up.

When Zoro was done, and they could finally go back to bed, He tucked Zoro in snuggly. "Don't move from here." He told him firmly. "If you need something, call me okay?"

But Zoro merely stared at him and he grunted in frustration. Hadn't the child spoken only moments before? "Oi. I know you can talk, say something."

Zoro giggled at his expression, and yawned in his face, before letting out a garbled infantile speech that only someone else his age would be able to decipher. Leading Sanji to believe that the child's speech was limited.

Which would probably explain why he had chosen to try and wake up Nami. She was on level ground with him at least. He must have been happy when he found her. He and the others were out of reach and hearing range even if he had managed to squeak the word out. Maybe he had attempted to wake Sanji up and that was what had woken him up in the first place…. But if the point was that he couldn't open the door to the bathroom, how had he gotten into Nami-san's room? Then again, the handle to the girl's room was a simpler model where all one had to do to open it was pull the handle down. The bathroom's handle was the kind one had to turn. Unless he had not even known where the bathroom was and had been lucky with the girl's room door. Well, whatever…. He was too tired to think anymore and his body was beginning to feel heavy with the need for sleep.

The crew's snoring made him envious. None of them had been disturbed throughout the entire episode, and no one had known that he had even been awake, besides Usopp. He swore that a ship would have to crash into the caravel before any of them woke up in the middle of the night.

With a shrug to the thought, he stalked over eagerly to his hammock, when he felt a tugging on his pant's leg. Releasing his breath in a rough exhale of air, he turned, to see Zoro staring up at him with expectant eyes and sucking his thumb. Placing his hands on his hips, he made sure to keep his tone firm.

"What is it _now_, chibi marimo?"

Apparently, the whole concept that he was annoyed with him went over Zoro's head completely. He interpreted Sanji's attention as something good and an invitation to play, because he suddenly smiled and squealed loudly in playful glee.

Damn. He had known he was stupid, he just hadn't known his stupidity had carried this far back.

He winced at Zoro's loudness and placed a finger over his lips. "No! Shh. Be quiet."

The little chibi marimo had the nerve to laugh once more, his baby voice rising in pitch. "I said to be quiet…" He hissed at him while reaching to pick him up.

Zoro only squealed in delight, convinced that they were playing, and dropped to his knees, furiously crawling away while laughing. Leaving the older man, for now, to chase after him.

Why did the little bugger move so much faster when he was crawling?

Finally stopping, the baby sat and looked back at him, waiting for and taunting him. He stopped as well and they stared at each other each waiting for the other to make a move.  
Zoro was all smiles, waiting patiently.

Sighing, Sanji gave in and started forward once more. However the bundle of energy had other plans. He allowed him to take just one step more before laughing and darting away once more.

A yawn escaped Sanji's lips before he was able to stop it and he growled in frustration. He was sure the night and his chances of getting a good night's sleep were slipping away.

With renewed determination, he gave chase once more. Unfortunately, whenever it seemed he would gain ground on the child, Zoro would take to hiding. Such as darting under the couch where he couldn't be reached.

At one point, Sanji actually stumbled, sleep deprivation catching up with him and making his reactions and actions sluggish. That was it, he couldn't take it anymore.

He peeked under the couch where Zoro had once more hidden, grinning up at him with childish glee, waiting for Sanji to try and catch him once more. But his little face dropped when the older man didn't comply.

"Fine, you little brat, you don't want to go to bed, I don't care." Sanji drawled as another yawn escaped his mouth. "But I'm tired and have to wake up soon, I'm going to bed so you can stay under there all night for all I care you ungrateful marimo."

Said little marimo stared up at him, finally getting the sense that their little game was coming to an end. He reached out from under the couch and pulled at Sanji's pant leg once more while babbling and gurgling in the language only he could decipher.

Sanji pulled out of reach and shook his head. "No. I'm not going to put up with your games anymore." With that he turned and stalked towards his hammock once more.

Zoro crawled out from under the couch, sat up and stared as his playmate walked away. He turned and tried to crawl back up onto the couch, but found that he couldn't. It was too high.

Well now, that wouldn't do. He was beginning to feel tired himself and was cranky that his game was cut off so soon. Not only that, but now he couldn't even cuddle up and go to sleep too. And his only source of help was walking away. With so many things stacked against him, and the fact that he was frustrated and grumpy, made him deal with things the only way babies knew how. He began to sniffle.

Sanji was halfway into his hammock when he heard a soft sniffling, and that hiccupped fast paced breathing babies always managed to do before they began to cry. Startled, he turned back to Zoro and saw him sitting in front of the couch, eyes tearing and his small nose turning red.

Shit.

He tried to hurry back to him before the little marimo released the wrath that only a small pair of lungs could, and wake everyone up. It really was amazing that everyone was still dead to the world with all the rucus they had caused.

He was three steps away, when Zoro opened his mouth and cried so loudly that he had to fight the urge to cringe and cover his ears. In their hammocks, Luffy and Chopper finally shifted in their sleep, frowning slightly.

Sanji bounded the last remaining steps it took to reach the baby and picked him up in one fluid motion. Zoro continued to cry into his ear, letting his frustration and discomfort known without any restrictions, he could care less who woke up because of it.

With another deep heartfelt sigh, Sanji rubbed his small back, while he whispered nonsensical words, the way he had seen many women do while comforting their children.

Amazingly enough, it worked and Zoro quieted his cry to a soft whining as he rested against Sanji's shoulder, and yawned.

Seeing this as a good sign, Sanji continued his actions and paced the small cabin, until he felt Zoro give one last huge yawn and then stir no more as he had finally fallen asleep. Even then, he paced around for a few more minutes, just to be double sure. Then and only then did he lay the little pain in the ass back on the couch and tucked him in once more.

Zoro only snuggled against his pillow, sucked his thumb, and continued to sleep.

Finally.

With a large yawn of his own, and a couple of stumbled steps, Sanji finally reached his hammock and as soon as his head hit his pillow, he knew no more.

"Hungry…"

Groaning and turning over in his sleep, he desperately tried to ignore the voice pulling him out of sweet nothingness.

"Na…..Sanjiiii….. I'm starving….I'm going to dieeeeee."

"Shut up Luffy!" He heard himself growl, followed by a blind kick.

"Ow!"

Ah, it had made contact.

"Sanji…." The captain continued to whine trying to sound as pitiful as possible.

"Let me sleep…" He groaned in response, burying his head under the pillow.

Huffing in frustration, Luffy pushed his hammock roughly, hoping to make the other fall off. But Sanji remained firmly planted in his hammock, and the swaying only served to lull him into a deeper sleep.

"Fine then. I guess that means I can have whatever I want. Hehehehe…."

_That _woke him up.

"You stay out of my kitchen." He growled, snapping his head up.

Luffy had the nerve to grin back at him. "So you'll finally make breakfast? I've been waiting since forever!"

_Finally? _

"What time is it?"

"It's eleven o'clock."

_Eleven? No way… _

Glancing at the sofa, Zoro was sound asleep, not budging an inch. Sighing, he stood and made his way to the galley.  
_  
Brat.  
_

_  
_**o0o0o0o**

Nami blinked as she watched Sanji rush up the stairs from the sleeping quarters and in a flash, pull out various ingredients to make something that was sure to taste delicious. But his hair was disheveled, his clothes untidy, and if she squinted she could see signs of bags under his eyes.

She had already thought it odd when she was up before him, knowing that he was usually already up at ungodly hours, looking clean, neat and ready for anything as he prepared their breakfast.

But this morning had been different. When she had woken up, it had been around nine in the morning, and she was surprised to find that everyone was already awake, minus Usopp who was fast asleep and she knew that it had to have been only a few hours prior that he had switched places with Robin, Sanji and for all obvious reasons, Zoro.

Robin had mentioned to her that when she had gone to relieve Usopp from his night watch duty, he had inquired about Sanji, saying that he had been behaving oddly during the night.

Although she admitted to herself that she probably took him for granted, and often took advantage of his fawning over her, he was still nakama and a pang of worry had still shivered down her spine when she had heard this because it was so unlike him.

She didn't know how long she had been pondering on her thoughts as she waited patiently at the kitchen table with the others, but before she knew it, Sanji was setting down a delicious smelling plate full of breakfast in front of her.

"Here you go, Nami-san." He grinned. " Made with the utmost love and care just for you…."

She smiled back at him, finding herself oddly relieved to hear his usual flair. "Thanks Sanji-kun."

His smile grew brighter and he nodded. "You're very welcome."

But as he turned back to serve everyone else, place a well aimed kick to Luffy's face as to push him back from attacking the food he was still carrying, and setting aside Usopp's plate, she could see in his face that he was still quite tired.

"Cook-san… are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah, you seem a little pale, maybe I should give you a check-up…"

Ah, so Robin and Chopper had noticed too.

He still managed to turn and grin at them. "You're so kind and caring Robin-chwan! Thank you for asking! …And thanks Chopper, but that won't be necessary… I'm fine."

"But, Marksman-san mentioned that you seemed upset last night…."

She watched as Sanji shook his head and fell back into his usual cool, suave approach to everything. He leaned against the counter in a usual relaxed pose, except this time it seemed to lack the usual air of slight cockiness that often went along with it. He was probably trying to compose himself and prove to them that he was fine. "Last night was …a misunderstanding…an overreaction. Nothing to worry about."

Robin raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but nodded in acceptance anyway and sipped from her mug of coffee.

Nami watched as Sanji did his best to hide a yawn, frowned at that fact, and then turned her attention to her plate. Something had obviously happened the night before and he wasn't going to share willingly.

How very odd.

It was then, in the midst of everything returning to normal, that Zoro chose to make his appearance once more.

She smiled before she was able to stop herself. One look at him and she couldn't bring herself to see him as Zoro. Not with his cute short unruly hair, with him rubbing his eyes drowsily and toddling very slowly into the room.

How had he managed to get up the stairs anyway? She shrugged and decided to never take a baby's determination for granted.

He stopped rubbing his eyes long enough to look up at all of them and babble happily.

That was it. He was being too adorable.

With a squeal she could not contain, Nami flew from her spot at the table, scooping him into her arms. Her heart nearly melted as he squealed in response and laughed, while patting her cheek and then hugging her in greeting.

A chorus of 'Aww' echoed around the galley. Even Luffy looked up from stuffing his face to grin at the sight. Everyone was enticed with the cuteness, all except one, Sanji.

He seemed to be glaring at the child, before turning his back on them all and proceeded to prepare the food in a way that would be easy for Zoro to consume, and warming a bottle of milk.

Nami couldn't help but notice his indifference and spoke up. "Sanji-kun, are you sure you're all right?"

He tossed an easy smile over his shoulder at her, before turning back to his task. "My wonderful Nami-swan, I assure you I'm all right."

"You seem mad at Zoro, I mean that's normal, but lets face it, these aren't normal circumstances."

"I'm not mad at him." Yet now he wouldn't turn around.

"Really?" She pushed, while raising a delicate brow. "Annoyed with then?"

"I just had some trouble falling asleep, that's all." He replied. Boy, was that an understatement.

Nami nodded, and while she didn't believe him, and that didn't really answer her question, was ready to drop the subject all together. But Usopp chose that moment to walk in drowsily, awoken by the delicious smell of breakfast.

"Ah. Good morning everyone!" He greeted happily, as if he hadn't only gotten a few hours sleep, stopping on his way to his seat to tickle Zoro on his tummy, making the baby squeal happily.

Everyone returned his greeting, while Usopp sat and began to eat. He noticed Sanji's disheveled appearance and swallowed before asking a question that had been bugging him all night and early morning. "Sanji, are you all right? Why were you running around like a lunatic last night?"

Everyone turned raised eyebrows to their cook, expecting an answer.

Sanji sighed deeply and fought the urge to bang his head against the counter. He retold the past night's events, and through the crucial parts, as if he understood, Zoro laughed.

Sanji endured everyone's laughter and sympathetic comments as he threw one last glare at the small pain in his side.

_Brat. _He thought with renewed enthusiasm.

* * *

Author's Notes:;:Cringes yet again:; Yes, I know I know. This chapter took wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too long. I am so sorry guys, but that was the worst bout of writer's block yet. It isn't much of an excuse, but it is the truth. I simply could not get this chapter done and no matter how hard I tried, I was never happy with it. 

I want to thank everyone who showed me their support, you know who you are and if there were fewer people, I'd do actual shout outs, but that's going to take up too much space that no one really would read through anyway. Just know that I love all of you who took the time to review, (especially taking time to review) and to those that through their reviews encouraged me to continue. It was really for those of you that did that, that I forced myself to finally finish this chapter. I hope the waiting was worth it. (Geez I really hope that. Lol) And ;:Hugs everyone tightly:; I really truly am grateful in ways that no words could describe.

And I swear to you all that the next chapter will be out before 2007 lol. (A week, the lastest, honest. it's a promise.)


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